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WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball fought all day with cross-town rival Winona State, but in the end, it was the Warriors — and their four Division I transfers — that had too much firepower for SMU to handle.

The Warriors controlled much of the game and topped SMU 84-50 on Saturday night in an exhibition game at WSU's McCown Gymnasium.

“It was nice to get to play some guys in another uniform, and now we get to start our season for real,” said SMU coach Todd Landrum, whose team officially kicks off its season on Monday, traveling to Crown College for a 7:30 p.m. contest against the Storm.

The Cardinals jumped out to an 8-3 lead, and looked like they would hang with the Warriors throughout. But trailing 32-25 in the last minute of the first half, WSU got 3-pointers from Anthony Tucker and Jon Walburg to take a 38-25 lead into the break.

“We had a bad possession there going into the break,” Landrum said. “We knew they were going to shoot a lot of three's and they did. We just need to defend better.

“They are a very talented team.”

Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) and Chris Palmer (Fariabult, Minn.) led the Cardinals with nine points apiece, while Pat Freeman (Champlin Park, Minn.) chipped in eight.